Federal funds for Ivy League, voting rights, distracted driving, more

Ivy League doesn’t need federal funds

Jim Malatras’ concern about Columbia and Harvard universities losing their academic freedom because of President Donald Trump’s threat to withhold funding is somewhat ironic considering these universities have endowments of approximately $15 billion and $53 billion, respectively “Trump imperils academic freedom,” Opinion, April 3]. It is obvious that both universities, as well as most of our other “esteemed” universities, have failed to adequately protect their Jewish students.

When I originally read about the amount of funding the federal government provides to the schools that 99% of smart, hardworking students have no chance of getting into, it made me wonder why the government is funding them at all. Surely, they can use their enormous endowments to fund their programs, alleviating the burden on U.S. taxpayers.

— Edward Beisner, Garden City

My head and heart are reeling over the arrests of college students and their possible deportation [“La. judge: Columbia U. activist can be deported,” Nation & World, April 12].

Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish national doctoral student at Tufts University, was arrested for writing an op-ed in the campus newspaper with three other students that was critical of Tufts’ response to the Gaza situation. And Mahmoud Khalil, a Columbia University graduate student, was arrested for speaking on behalf of pro-Palestinian protesters and might also be deported.

This does not bode well for our country’s foundation of freedom of speech under the First Amendment. Almost 1,000 international students and scholars have lost legal status since mid-March and face deportation if they don’t leave voluntarily. Every American should be alarmed about these chilling actions.

— Diane McGuire, Northport

Jumping through hoops to get to vote

The Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, just passed in the House, could disenfranchise millions of Americans. It requires in-person voter registration along with proof of citizenship [“House OKs voter proof of citizenship,” Nation, April 11].

One in 10 Americans do not have easy access to certificates of documentation while millions of Americans, mostly married women, do not have a birth certificate that matches their current legal name. For veterans or those in rural areas, it is difficult to make changes in person “Every voter should provide identification,” Letters April 15].

Why do we need this bill? Noncitizen voting is already illegal. Violators face imprisonment and possible deportation. Who would risk that?

The Heritage Foundation and the Republican Party have promoted claims about noncitizens voting, but their own data suggests these cases are rare.

And there’s no guidance on how to navigate this logistical nightmare. We should be adding thousands of federal workers instead of making cuts.

— Rosanne Manfredi, Ridge

Force drivers to use cellphones off road

Collaboration between cellphone manufacturers and automobile manufacturers can result in drivers’ inability to utilize a phone unless it is being used hands-free [“Stiffen distracted driving penalties,” Editorial, April 11]. Phones can be made to have blank screens for drivers and not respond to driver input unless the car is stopped and in park.

— Andrew Amador, Holtsville

Let mascots live in the world of today

Naming a team the Spartans is said to be “racially problematic” because it recognized white supremacy and male dominance [“Suit: New Spartans mascot is ‘racially problematic,’ ” News, March 28].

This claim is an ahistorical effort to impose modern understanding on the past. Here, it relates 21st century thinking to 2,000 years ago. And it imposes it from a society that experienced life in a much smaller geographic, social and cultural understanding. History exists; it cannot be altered to suit our sensibilities.

What the name Spartans suggests, instead, is sacrifice and courage in the face of overwhelming odds, a behavior that should be encouraged in our young people. Many colleges and high schools use this team name for this reason.

As a retired professor of history, I believe our efforts could be better spent understanding the past rather than attempting to impose our standards on that experience.

— Angelo Angelis, Freeport

First, MacArthur must add additional cities

So, another call to develop the area between Long Island MacArthur Airport and Ronkonkoma’s Long Island Rail Road station [“In search of a vision,” Our Towns, April 11]. While interesting, any plan should begin with an increase in cities accessible via nonstop flights.

— Gerard Sewell, West Babylon